butt.
Yea, I said it. Consistent & frequent cardio exercise has that effect on me. Apparently.
I was going to post this at week 2 and 3 but never got around to it...there are just not enough hours in my days! So...here we are at the middle of week 4 of T25 and I can confirm that yep, I lost my butt.
Remember all those pencil skirts and pants I had "goaled" to fit in? (I just made up a word, I think) They all fit. In fact, I tried one on earlier this week and it was big on me. I totally missed the wearing period on that one because now it's been relegated to the back of the closet due to "saggy pants syndrome". Usually a phrase I save for pants, this particular skirt falls in that category. It is highly unattractive.
My birthday is next week and celebrations begin tonight (which I am sure will extend until next month). My goal of being in the "best" shape of my life is meh, pretty close. Although I am thrilled to fit in my clothes again (because it was getting to be slim pickins' in the closet), my intent was never to lose a bunch of weight and be "petite". I only use that term because my husband called me that recently...it is not a word you would associate with someone 5'9". Rather, what I want to be is fit and strong, which to me defines "best shape".
When I first started writing this a couple of weeks ago, my thought was to cut back on T25 and not follow the program to the tee. I had been running and upping my mileage along with my weekly aerial class and nightly yoga challenges in addition to T25 and I knew I needed to cut back. Of course, I didn't. But then I got busy and naturally, something had to give. I initially cut back on the running because it was the hardest to squeeze in and quite frankly the weather sucked. Sub 40 temps are not a favorite for this South Florida girl so that was an easy call. It's warmed up now and I still haven't been able to pick back up on the running. This is frustrating to me because I had really cut my pace down pretty quick to a place that made me giddy of where it could go. Breaking the consistency really puts me at square one. Boo.
I kept at T25 because really, it's TWENTY FIVE minutes people! Before you can start complaining about it, you're half way done. The amount of sweat produced in that short amount of time is really amazing. I figured some workout is better than no workout but really my "lass" situation is still not being tended to (albeit it's a diminished area).
This week has been a total bust. I admit that right now. I've skipped 2 days of T25 (for shame!) and tonight, I doubt I will want to give it a go after a couple of birthday cocktails. Ditto for the yoga challenge...I went to bed so late and completely forgot! Boo to me! I have lots of work to make up for this slacking over the weekend. A bike ride, run, aerial class and definitely some standing on my head is in order!
Gotta go now, I have to take my diminishing bedunkadunk out of here...there's a cocktail with my name on it!
~V
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
If the shoe fits...
Remember my issue with the foot cramping on my early review of Focus T25 here? Well, here's a quick update. I found this blog post on the Shaun T website that hit what I was feeling on the head. --> http://shauntfitness.com/insanity-shoes/
Reading this article and some of the comments reminded me that a few years ago, when I first started running (for the first time ever) and got to the 5+ mile range, my knee and foot started hurting. Long story short, running in the wrong shoes caused me to get plantar fasciitis. As it turns out, I learned in my late 30s that I have flat feet. What? They certainly don't look flat. In fact, by looking at my feet, I'd say I have a high arch! I don't know how I forgot all those weeks of rehabbing, taping, ultrasound treatment and massages to help my condition but I guess when the pain resurfaces, so do the memories. My doctor had me fitted for orthotics (which I never wore after spending a fortune on them) and I remember the diagnosis was something with a "fallen arch". It appears to be a high arch until my foot hits the ground. There, my arch does too. When I switched out the shoes, the problem was solved. (and poof, the memory of how I got there too, apparently).
This whole foot cramping during high impact exercise brought it all to light. It makes sense that my arches would cramp when I am jumping for a solid half hour on my toes. The first thing I did was take my shoes OFF. I was wearing New Balance Minimus because I knew that running shoes would be a bad idea and because I have no other cross training shoes. These are pretty close to not wearing anything as the name implies and I usually love knocking around in them. However, T25, them and me were not a good combo. I didn't need more days of torture to figure that out.
Days 3 through 5 of T25 were fantastic...great work outs and minimal if no cramping. My husband noticed on day 5 (when we worked out together again) and thought I was nuts to be doing it all barefoot. I'll admit, the hardest things are: Jump Squats (the landing is hard on my feet...some cushion would be nice) and Mountain Climbers (Alternating leg lifts while in plank position...my feet kept slipping with fast repetition). Also, those days were not as high impact as the first two so apples and apples they were not.
Over the weekend, we did the Cardio DVD again (from Day 1) and we started the rotation again last night (Cardio Back to back!). I did them both barefoot and my feet did cramp but not as severely. I am not certain if it's that I am strengthening those little muscles in my feet and it's helping the situation or if it's because I'm just getting use to it. Nevertheless, I will say that I still need some support for the landings and grip so I'll look to find alternatives to the minimus in a cross training shoe.
The search is not over but I am hopeful that those muscles ARE indeed getting stronger and relieving the tension from the fascia during all those jumps. We'll see...I will update any findings, in the mean time I'll be "Focusing" barefooted!
~V
P.S - an update to the T25 review, I'll just say this...I have done Cardio 3x now and it's getting easier. So much so that I went for a run immediately after the 2nd time. My thumper is getting stronger already! :)
Reading this article and some of the comments reminded me that a few years ago, when I first started running (for the first time ever) and got to the 5+ mile range, my knee and foot started hurting. Long story short, running in the wrong shoes caused me to get plantar fasciitis. As it turns out, I learned in my late 30s that I have flat feet. What? They certainly don't look flat. In fact, by looking at my feet, I'd say I have a high arch! I don't know how I forgot all those weeks of rehabbing, taping, ultrasound treatment and massages to help my condition but I guess when the pain resurfaces, so do the memories. My doctor had me fitted for orthotics (which I never wore after spending a fortune on them) and I remember the diagnosis was something with a "fallen arch". It appears to be a high arch until my foot hits the ground. There, my arch does too. When I switched out the shoes, the problem was solved. (and poof, the memory of how I got there too, apparently).
This whole foot cramping during high impact exercise brought it all to light. It makes sense that my arches would cramp when I am jumping for a solid half hour on my toes. The first thing I did was take my shoes OFF. I was wearing New Balance Minimus because I knew that running shoes would be a bad idea and because I have no other cross training shoes. These are pretty close to not wearing anything as the name implies and I usually love knocking around in them. However, T25, them and me were not a good combo. I didn't need more days of torture to figure that out.
Days 3 through 5 of T25 were fantastic...great work outs and minimal if no cramping. My husband noticed on day 5 (when we worked out together again) and thought I was nuts to be doing it all barefoot. I'll admit, the hardest things are: Jump Squats (the landing is hard on my feet...some cushion would be nice) and Mountain Climbers (Alternating leg lifts while in plank position...my feet kept slipping with fast repetition). Also, those days were not as high impact as the first two so apples and apples they were not.
Over the weekend, we did the Cardio DVD again (from Day 1) and we started the rotation again last night (Cardio Back to back!). I did them both barefoot and my feet did cramp but not as severely. I am not certain if it's that I am strengthening those little muscles in my feet and it's helping the situation or if it's because I'm just getting use to it. Nevertheless, I will say that I still need some support for the landings and grip so I'll look to find alternatives to the minimus in a cross training shoe.
The search is not over but I am hopeful that those muscles ARE indeed getting stronger and relieving the tension from the fascia during all those jumps. We'll see...I will update any findings, in the mean time I'll be "Focusing" barefooted!
~V
P.S - an update to the T25 review, I'll just say this...I have done Cardio 3x now and it's getting easier. So much so that I went for a run immediately after the 2nd time. My thumper is getting stronger already! :)